The American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) are pleased to announce the publication of 2 updated clinical practice guidelines on management of patients with heart failure, which have been produced in collaboration with the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) and the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC.

The introduction of an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), valsartan/sacubitril, and a sinoatrial node modulator, ivabradine, when applied judiciously, complement established pharmacological and device-based therapies, representing milestones in the evolution of care for patients with heart failure. Accordingly, the writing committees of the “ESC 2016 Guideline on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute and Chronic Heart Failure Developed With the Special Contribution of the HFA” (1) and the “2016 ACC/AHA/HFSA Focused Update on New Pharmacological Therapy for Heart Failure” (2) concurrently developed recommendations for the incorporation of these therapies into clinical practice. The ESC guideline is a complete revision of the “ESC Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute and Chronic Heart Failure (2012) Developed With the Special Contribution of the HFA” (3). The ACC/AHA/HFSA document, developed in partnership with the HFSA, is part of a Focused Update of the “2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure” (4) that will be published within the next year.

Each writing committee surveyed the evidence independently and constructed similar recommendations, which were then shared between the organizations. Given the robust processes used by both expert writing committees to review the evidence and develop these recommendations and the concordance between them, the organizations agreed to publish them concurrently to unify the message, minimize confusion, and improve and standardize the care of patients with heart failure.

The officers of the ACC, AHA, and ESC and their respective guideline oversight committees meet regularly to discuss opportunities for coordination and alignment on overlapping topics and evolution of the methodology used to gather and evaluate scientific evidence. The objective is to promote optimal care for patients with all forms of cardiovascular disease to improve outcomes and enhance quality of life around the world. The new documents represent an important step in this direction.

This article has been copublished in Circulation, Journal of Cardiac Failure, European Journal of Heart Failure, and the European Heart Journal.

Copies: This document is available on the websites of the American College of Cardiology (www.acc.org), the American Heart Association (professional.heart.org), the Heart Failure Society of America (www.hfsa.org), and the European Society of Cardiology (www.escardio.org/guidelines). For copies of this document, please contact Elsevier Reprint Department, fax (212) 633-3820 or e-mail reprints{at}elsevier.com.

References

(2016) 2016 ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: The Task Force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Developed with the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC. Eur Heart J37:2129–2200.

(2016) 2016 ACC/AHA/HFSA focused update on new pharmacological therapy for heart failure: an update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of heart failure: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines and the Heart Failure Society of America. J Am Coll Cardiol68:1476–1488, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2016.05.011.

(2012) ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure 2012: the Task Force for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Acute and Chronic Heart Failure 2012 of the European Society of Cardiology. Eur Heart J33:1787–1847.

(2013) 2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of heart failure: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. J Am Coll Cardiol62:e147–e239.

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